h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hey GD

HEY yer-sen Shea



Hi Gosho. Yes it was quite mad driving over a Bank Holiday. But now I'm home I can walk out of my house, go down the hill, and admire all the traffic jams of tourists trying to get in and out of the town. Its then a 10 minute stroll to the beach for me

Bank Holiday?

The Banks are closed so everyone celebrates?
or the whole country shuts down because they are holding your money hostage?

Or is the entire country banking as in a turn to the left?

Or the people on the banks of rivers get the day off?

Help the Uncivilized American understand!

Hi elwood.

Bank Holidays were established in England and Wales in 1871 as four working days in the year which were to become public holidays. The name Bank Holiday arose because on these days the banks were allowed to close and to defer transactions until the next working day.

The four days in the year are New Years Day, a day at the beginning and end of May and today ie the end of August. In addition we have the religious holidays of two days off at both Christmas and Easter - not that many people seem to take much notice of the religous element in this country.

The Scots seem to get 2nd January as an extra holiday. I don't know why, perhaps they just party that much harder over the New Year.

In Northern Ireland there are two additional public holidays of St.Patrick's day and the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne - so thats one day off for each half of their sectarian devide.

Thanks for the civics lesson, GD!

Yeesh! You've got to watch what you ask for around here.

What about Independence Day or President's Day?

Why should we celebrate those days? We don't (yet) have a President and as for Independence day, why should we celebrate the day a bunch of colonials nicked our best bit of prime real estate for themselves

Oh yeah, that's right.(hee hee)

But when do you get fireworks, and ridiculously overadvertised sales?

Okay now that THAT is cleared up what is a Sheffield accent
(the english equivelent of a Noo Yawk accent?)

Sheffield - A large city in Northern England. Famous for making highly specialist stuff with steel. Used to be famous for making cutlery.

The city is bizarrely proud of the fact that when Sadam Hussein wanted a bloody great big gun to fire shells all the way to Israel, Sheffield was the only place in the world that had the expertise to do it.

BTW its also built on seven hills just like Rome, but I have to admit that that is where the similarity ends.

Oh and in answer to your question "yer-sen" translates as "yourself"

I hope I'm not going to be tested on all this

because my eyes glazed over somewhere around big gun...

(is Sheffield where "The Full Monty" took place
I vaguely remember a TV documentary at the beginning of the movie?)

Yes it is. And we are not very impressed with it. It makes the city and its people look poor and stupid which is not the case.

The Full Monty in Sheffield is usually referred to as "That American Film".

Well we didn't assume that the film was portraying every aspect of a city that large. Just the funny parts!

We did love it here in America because the characters had great heart and spirit. Hopefully that is in every aspect of Sheffield.

But my town has been portrayed many times in film and they never get it right, so I can sympathize with your plight. In one film "Bird on a Wire" Goldie Hawn takes a ferry from Detroit to Wisconsin in about an hour - first there are no ferrys to take, second Canada is accross the water from us and it takes about 2 minutes by boat to go accross the river and lastly Wisconsin is 400 miles as the crow flies from here...by boat you would have to go around the entire peninsula about 1,000 miles! (and that's just one film)

Blue Point has never been depicted in a film ... funny, that ...

Grosse POINT Blank was close!

(oh that was about the Detroit area, too)

they filmed whatsit... the movie with susan sarandon and the guy from stargate... james spader.. hell what was it? can't remember the name, surely i'll remember it at about two in the morning when i'm trying to sleep. anyway they shot that in st. louis... i thought they got it almost right.... don't remember being really disappointed anyway. isn't def leppard from sheffield?
gd

WHITE PALACE!!! i knew i would remember it as soon as i hit the 'post' button!

Senior moment, broe?

Hey GD!